Bijan Nemati, Ph.D. will trace recent observations in astronomy and describe the new ground- and space-based astronomical instruments in development to explore the profound questions regarding extrasolar planets—planets orbiting a star outside our own solar system—and what information their recent discoveries hold about the universe.

The title of Dr. Nemati’s talk, “From the Starry Messenger to Extrasolar Planets: The Continuing Revelation of an Extraordinary Home,” refers to Galileo Galilei’s 400-year-old tract, “The Starry Messenger,” which details his observations of the Earth’s moon, Jupiter’s moons and the stars (and wound Galileo in hot water with the Catholic Church).

Dr. Nemati currently is a senior engineer and scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on a project that seeks Earthlike planets around nearby stars. He was also featured on the

NOVA

documentary, “The Privileged Planet.”

Dr. Nemati will speak Friday, March 26 from 5–6 p.m. in B24 of the Library at Bellarmine University,

2000 Norris Pl

. The talk is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be available half an hour prior to the program.